REVIEW: A.A. Williams - Solstice

A.A. WILLIAMS has steadily and successfully conquered the uncharted space between dramatic metal and conceptual sound, laying the foundations of her empire with her self-titled EP in 2019 and building with visionary collaborations, boundary-breaking sounds, and relentless support and headline touring. She now adds another level to her solid monument with new album Solstice, an album that defies limitations, blends genres and concepts, and leaves you channelling the soul-searching and agonised feeling Williams embedded into the album.

Recently signing to Reigning Phoenix Music, Solstice marks her first project with them whilst delivering a sound that’s been shaped by years of grafting and refining to achieve something that’s elevated and confident in its production and weighed by its intense sensation. Williams both invites you into the depths of her emotion and embraces you in yours, the album a tapestry of intense longing for someone or something tailored into a cinematic experience of sound.

Drawing you into a near-dreamscape melody, opening track Poison opens with muffled piano keys before descending into a sombre rhythm that flickers between the border of grunge and shoegaze, Williams crying out “be my saviour from myself”, abruptly falling to organ notes then crashing over like a wave breaking the shore. Wolves displays the power of Williams’ vocals as she weaves from low pitches to prolonged notes whilst preserving the heavy emotion behind the lyrics, to the point you can practically feel how wearied and defeated she begs to be left to the wolves. Little By Little showcases more of the darkness built into the album, the rhythm understated but with the promise it’s merely holding itself back, a subtle shift in volume and sound effects jolting through, before Williams’ voice powerfully rises over and the dark instrumentals break through the restrained facade.

Drowning in vulnerability, Hold It Together is one of the most introspective tracks on the album, the lyrics “this isn’t easy feeling everything so deeply” particularly hitting a deep pain as poignant piano plays under her rising, ethereal vocal runs, a sudden crescendo of guitar and drums over a choir, the illusion of holding everything together shattered. Outlines holds the type of yearning you could only find in an epic film or novel and wish would happen in real life, the vocals and instruments rising unbridled as the lyrics reflect on a feeling lost and the desperation to reclaim it. Enveloping you in rich, low tones over melancholy keys, guitar plucks and subtle strings, I’ve Seen Enough doesn’t let up on the inescapable feeling of loss and despair prevalent throughout Solstice.

The Veil feels like the crumbling of the world around you while you can only watch, Williams’ mournful voice pleading with an unseen “love” that “[she] can’t keep this flame alive on my own”, vocalised over a lone piano with sorrowful chords. Driving back in with powerful instruments, Just A Shadow is a solid track that weaves between paces and instrumental highlights, a guitar solo ringing out over everything as they all rise as a unit, unclear if it should feel triumphant or defeated or leaving you lost in your feelings as it fades to silence. It Won’t Rain Forever starts with stripped back piano and vocals before crashing in with vocal runs and heavy rhythms, in a mix of dark gothic, melancholic metal, and a lament, the breakdown of strings adding dramatic weight to the track.

Breathe almost starts as the fastest track on the album, but as the instruments fall into place and the pace remains at a dragging speed it’s actually Williams’ vocals that give that impression, as if she’s rushing to get her feelings out before it’s too late, begging “give me a chance to seek serenity, my love, I just want to know what it feels like”. We come to the end of Solstice and its heart-breaking self-reflection with The Gentle Harm, beginning with a deep sadness over percussion and strings, when suddenly Williams almost seems to bite back that she won’t let her sadness consume her, a guitar soaring over the growing crescendo of crunchy drums and repeated keys, fading out one aspect at a time and leaving to process everything you just felt.

It’s A.A. WILLIAMS at her most established and features the most expressionism in her work to date, whilst still leaving a space for future developments - she’s at the top of one peak in a mountain range of creativity.

Score: 10/10

Solstice will be released on June 5th 2026 via Reigning Phoenix Music.

Words: Julia Stark

Photos: Jake Owens